Troubleshooting Guide: Can't See Internal Drives in Disk Utility (Mavericks)

Guide:

If you're experiencing issues with not being able to see internal drives in Disk Utility while attempting to install OS X Mavericks on a 2009 Dell machine, follow these troubleshooting steps:

1. Check SATA Mode in BIOS: Although your BIOS does not have an AHCI option, ensure that the SATA Mode is set to either ATA or RAID, as you've already attempted. Sometimes, even if AHCI is not explicitly listed, selecting ATA mode might work.

2. Try Different SATA Ports: If your motherboard has multiple SATA ports, try connecting your internal drives to different ports. Sometimes, certain ports may not be recognized properly.

3. Ensure Proper Drive Connection: Double-check that your internal SATA drives are properly connected to the motherboard and power supply. Loose connections or faulty cables can prevent drives from being detected.

4. Format Drives to HFS+: Since you're attempting to install OS X Mavericks, ensure that your internal drives are formatted to the HFS+ file system. NTFS drives may not be recognized by macOS.

5. Use Disk Utility in Recovery Mode: Boot your Dell machine into macOS Recovery mode (Command + R at startup) and see if Disk Utility detects your internal drives from there. Sometimes, using Disk Utility in Recovery mode can provide better results.

6. Inject Required Kexts: Make sure you have the necessary kexts injected into your macOS installer, such as SATA-Unsupported.kext and ATAPortInjector.kext. These kexts may help in recognizing internal SATA drives.

7. Verify USB Drive Creation: Ensure that the USB drive containing the macOS Mavericks installer was created correctly. Use a different USB drive or recreate the installer following a reliable guide to eliminate any potential issues.

8. Check Compatibility: Verify the compatibility of your hardware components with OS X Mavericks. Certain chipsets or hardware configurations may not be fully compatible with older macOS versions.

9. Seek Community Support: If you're still encountering issues, consider seeking assistance from the Hackintosh community forums or Discord channels. Experienced users may provide additional insights or specific solutions tailored to your hardware setup.

By following these troubleshooting steps, you should be able to address the issue of not being able to see internal drives in Disk Utility while attempting to install OS X Mavericks on your Dell machine.